Man Finds Roman Coin Hoard With Ace 150

A man who was a complete beginner to metal detecting went into a metal detector shop looking to buy his first metal detector. He didn't want to spend much being new to the hobby so the shops staff recommended a Garrett Ace 150. He bought the Ace 150 and off he went.

The man returned to the shop with 40 Solidi Gold Roman coins and asked "What do I do with this".  How about that for luck. The shops staff got all the necessary permits and permissions and went back to the site with archeologist's to conduct a professional dig of the area, which is located near St. Albans, UK. They found over 100 more Solidi Roman Gold coins. The find is said to be worth around £100,000 GBP.

Talk about location! It just goes to show, location means a hell of a lot when it comes to metal detecting. Also, Never underestimate the "Entry level" machines. Most, like the Garretts and C-Scopes are very capable of finding valuable items.

Read more about this find.

Where Can You Buy A Metal Detector

Many visitors end up on this website from asking that question: Where Can I Buy A Metal Detector. If your asking that question it gives me the impression that you are probably new to metal detecting and maybe just want to buy a metal detector to give it a try and see if it's for you. In that case my advice for what it's worth is to be patient, read as many reviews as possible, and don't spend too much money on your first detector. Yes, you want one that can find the goodies but you don't want to spend a small fortune when you are a beginner. Any decent, low priced Metal Detector like the Ace 250 or C-Scope 1MX will find good items if your location is right. No matter how much you spend on a metal detector, or what the other owners of that model have found with theirs you won't find something that isn't there. Remember, it's all about location, location, location!

A Superb Vintage Metal Detector - The Minelab Musketeer Colt

If you are new to metal detecting you might give it a go and discover that you don't like metal detecting after all, or perhaps you won't have enough free time to get out with the detector much. In both cases it often results in the person selling the metal detector second hand after minimal use. Set your budget limit and stick to it. For a good starter metal detector you will need to spend around £150 - £200.

So, where are the best places to buy a metal detector.

A local metal detector shop is probably the best place because if you have any problems or questions they are much more easy to deal with then buying a detector online ( At a distance) and having to wait for email correspondence, or postal services etc. Another benefit buying from a local detector shop is you can actually handle the metal detectors, turn them on, try before you buy!

First stop online is usually eBay. This is the place were most second hand metal detectors will go up for sale. Of course, there are many people and businesses selling brand new metal detectors on eBay also. There are always some good deals to be had on eBay.

Amazon is usually over looked when it comes to metal detectors but there are some good detectors to be found on the site. The Ace 250 and Ace 150 are sold just below the retail price on Amazon. Also with Amazon you have the added benefit and peace of mind of having a 30 day return policy so you would be able to send your detector back (In it's original new condition) if you decide you don't want it. I believe this only applies to items stocked and sold by Amazon and not merchants. Merchants will have their own returns policy.

Preloved is a good website for finding second hand metal detectors. Many detectors to choose from and most are sold at fairly cheap prices. There's even a second hand Blisstool LTC64X metal detector for sale on Preloved right now. Although the Blisstool LTC64X is not recommended for beginner's it's just an example of what you can find on Preloved.

My favourite option for people who are new to metal detecting and don't want to spend too much money on a metal detector is a website called Swapz. Basically the name says it all, you swap items with people. If you have items that you no longer use or no longer want why not put them on the swapz website saying that you want to swap for a metal detector. Your item will have to be within the same sort of price range as the detector you want to swap with, or money can be added either way. All in all, this is a good option for novice metal detectors because your not actually laying out much money, your swapping an item you no longer use. You'll probably just have to pay to post your item off, unless the person is local or you don't mind travelling.

If you do end up trying out Swapz beware, there are a lot of time wasters and rip-offs that frequent the site. I know this from personal experience. But saying that, there also some really good swappers on the site that can be trusted 100%. Make sure you only deal with people who have a good swap history. Look for the people with good feedback as they are the ones that can be trusted.

Another four online metal detector outlets that are pretty good.

Subtech ( C-Scope only )

Detecnicks

Crawfords

Joan Allen (Expensive)

And don't forget your local papers and local online classifieds inlcluding the Friday Ad, Bargain Pages, and GumTree. I would mention Craigslist but it's not used much here in the UK for selling items.

Best Metal Detector

Have you ever heard the saying, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. Well, that's kind of how I feel about the Garrett Ace 250. Metal detecting is an addictive hobby. I'm addicted to metal detecting and I haven't even found anything that good or valuable. If you are lucky enough to find something excellent then I think it's safe to say you will probably be hooked for life! I have found a few decent items and the high I got when finding something pretty neat was like an adrenaline rush that made me want to keep searching and searching until I found the gold at the end of the rainbow. I can only imagine the feeling I would get if I found something really historic or valuable. The best metal detector for beginners on a budget is without doubt the Garrett Ace 250.

I read a story once about a guy in the UK that I believe was fairly new to metal detecting. He had permission from a land owner to metal detect some of his land. So off he went, metal detecting the day away finding a few bits and pieces here and there. He came across a good signal, he dug the signal and found a fully intact, mind condition Roman War Mask! Can you imagine the excitement the person felt finding such a rare item. It's an incredibly rare item to find in perfect condition. I believe only a few have ever been found in the UK in such pristine condition.

The finder and the land owner done the right thing and reported the find to the proper authorities etc. The kicker to this story is that these Roman War Masks were not made from precious metals. They were actually made from Iron and Tin I believe. This meant that the find did not need to be declared under the UK treasure act. The land owner and finder were free to do whatever they wanted with their find. It was decided by the land owner and finder of the Roman War Mask that the item would be sold at auction. At auction the Roman War Mask sold for over £2 Million GBP!. What a find. The land owner and finder split the money 50/50. I'm not sure what make the metal detector was that found the item but I think that most detectors would have found it because it's not a small item. An Ace 250, a CS1MX, both would have found it if you would have been lucky enough to swing the coil in the right location over the treasure.

Anyway, that's enough talk from me fantasising about finds of a lifetime. My purpose for this post was to praise the Garrett Ace 250 for being such a great all round metal detector. Definitely the best within the price range. Recently I have been wishing that I hadn't sold my Ace 250. I now own a C-Scope CS1MX, and from using it quite a lot since I bought it I have noticed differences. Differences that make me prefer the Ace 250 over the 1MX. When I owned the Ace 250 I ended up hating it. But now when I look back I think I just needed to learn the machine better. The C-Scope detectors are meant to be better suited to UK soils but I have found no difference between the Ace 250 and the 1MX.

Also the Khz of the machines. A higher Khz is said to be able to detect smaller items deeper, and I don't dispute that fact, but in my experience the Garrett has been able to detect items of similar size just as deep as the C-Scope, if not deeper. And the C-scope 1MX's accuracy isn't that great and when you take into consideration that it has no built-in pin pointer you can imagine how hard it is without a pin pointer to find a small item that's giving you the signal. Needless to say, the Garrett 250 does have a built in pin pointer and it is very accurate and easy to use. Then you have the discrimination. The 1MX can not eliminate foil. Not without the discrimination being set really high, and that means missing potentially good finds. The same goes for depth. The Ace seems to find items deeper then the 1MX. Both machines were similar in depth when it came to an air test but once I hit the "out in the field" reality I think the Ace 250 is the deeper machine in most soil conditions.

It's not only metal detecting that's addictive but buying metal detectors can be addictive too. Some people go through so many metal detectors considered as the next best thing only to discover that they should have just stuck with one decent metal detector and learnt the machine inside out. I know a guy that has 8 metal detectors! He always wants the latest and greatest new metal detector that's hit the market. But no matter how many different metal detectors you own or what the newest best metal detector out there offers you, you will always want another one. None are perfect for all conditions.

Take the new BlissTool metal detectors. They are the deepest I have ever seen. One comparison video I seen put the new BlissTool up against an XP Deus. Both tried to find a hoard of copper coins that had been buried two weeks earlier. This hoard was buried very deep. Both machines went over the hoard and the BlissTool picked up the hoard with a nice clear two way signal, where as the XP Deus didn't make a sound. However, as deep as the Blisstool is, and it is quite possibly the deepest detector on the market, it is said to really struggle amongst trashy / junky sites. So you can't have everything no matter which detector you have, no matter how deep it goes or how much it costs. Best thing to do is buy a decent detector and learn it inside out. I want my Garrett back!